Kiawah Island Ocean Course

Kiawah Island Ocean Course

The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island is among Pete Dye ‘s masterpiece creations.m The front nine plays through the marsh area and features plenty of tall and intimidating treelined fairways, while the back nine showcases the magnificent dunes, far fewer trees, and better panoramic views of the ocean. The course is extremely challenging from the back Championship tees and take pride in being one of the most complicated courses in the country. Paspalum grass is great for rare non-windy days.

Although it was originally designed to sit behind the dunes, Dye’s wife, Alice, suggested raising the entire course to allow players unobstructed views of Kiawah’s beautiful Atlantic coastline from every hole. This improved view, however, made the course substantially more demanding as it also exposed it to the area’s brisk and unpredictable sea breezes. Probably no other golf course in the world outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland is affected as much by the wind. From one round to the next, a player can experience up to an 8-club difference on holes depending upon the direction and strength of the wind. Built-in 1991 by Pete Dye, there are no prevailing winds on the course. Dye took this into account when designing the course. In fact, he designed two courses into one – one for an easterly wind and one for a westerly wind.

Positioned just under 45 minutes south of Charleston, Kiawah Island is home to over half a dozen golf courses and is one of the nation’s top golf locations. The Ocean Course at Kiawah has become incredibly famous for hosting the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 PGA Championship, in which Rory McIlroy won the Wanamaker Trophy.   Once you get to where the professionals of the game play, you want to enjoy it as the professional players do. The Ocean Course gives you that incentive as it is a walking-only course, You can stroll along the side of your caddie and be discussing how to approach every shot you face.

The architecture and layout is one of Dye’s most popular creations and simply one of the best quality public golfing experiences in the world.
Perfect for your next trip to South Carolina.